FlytrapRanch Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 (edited) Photo taken March 20, 2009 of a developing trap of a Red Piranha Venus Flytrap. Red Piranhas certainly are vigorous plants. They are looking really good right now, coming out of northern hemisphere dormancy (in New Mexico, US) and beginning to put up flower stalks. Steve Edited March 21, 2009 by xscd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan P Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Lovely plant, really great colour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonkochuni Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Hi Steve Red piranha seems quite a slow grower for me so its suprising you describe it as vigorous, I really wish I could say the same! Nice pic btw. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel O. Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Hi Steve, indeed a very nice clone. Best regards, Dani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 (edited) Red piranha seems quite a slow grower for me so its suprising you describe it as vigorous, I really wish I could say the same! All the red-leafed, anthocyanin loaded Venus Flytraps seem like slow growers unless they are given more light than the green Flytraps. Grown under the same light, the green-leafed Flytraps generally grow faster than the red-leafed ones, at least in my experience. I'm guessing that the red coloring is an adaptation to intense light, and reduces some of the light available for photosynthesis, a "suntan" for plants. Therefore, the red Flytraps actually need more sun or light to grow well. I live in an almost desert under almost continuously cloudless skies under intense high-altitude sunlight (at 4000 feet / 1220 meters above sea level). So my plants get a lot of light. The Red Piranha seems "vigorous" to me because 1) they grow very well into robust plants if given plenty of light, and 2) they tend to produce numerous divisions when happy, forming a clump of many densely packed plants. Here is a photo of the same plants a few weeks ago, before they broke dormancy. They were originally just 4 plants about a year and a half ago. Steve Edited March 22, 2009 by xscd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 I'm guessing that the red coloring is an adaptation to intense light, and reduces some of the light available for photosynthesis, a "suntan" for plants. Adaptation implies a change to give an organism an advantage over others in the population (which can eventually lead to new spp). The red pigmentation isnt an adaptation as it doesnt help it survive better than the typical VFT. In fact it is a disadvantage as it seems to require more light to thrive. So in its natural environment it would be out competed. I would just describe the appearance of this red form as a random mutation. Its success is due to humans taking it out of the wild and cultivating it for its unusual colouration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 (edited) Adaptation implies a change to give an organism an advantage over others ... Not in this case. I was not making a scientific assertion. I wasn't using the word adaptation in any evolutionary sense but in the sense of a relatively rapid response to a certain set of conditions, like humans developing a tan in sunlight. Even the red Venus Flytraps are much greener in less intense light and become redder in more intense light, like many other plants (Darlingtonia and Drosera capensis "red" spring to mind). Edited March 22, 2009 by xscd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Not in this case. I was not making a scientific assertion. I wasn't using the word adaptation in any evolutionary sense but in the sense of a relatively rapid response to a certain set of conditions, like humans developing a tan in sunlight. Even the red Venus Flytraps are much greener in less intense light and become redder in more intense light, like many other plants (Darlingtonia and Drosera capensis "red" spring to mind). The word in that case would be response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 (edited) The word in that case would be response. Not necessarily. There are many ways to express a point. The word adaptation does not belong to science or to the theory of evolution. However, I did use the word response in my original response to you, in the phrase, "relatively rapid response to a certain set of conditions," but adaptation is a fine word to use too, in the sense of adapting to conditions, as all of us do from time to time. Edited March 23, 2009 by xscd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Not necessarily.There are many ways to express a point. The word adaptation does not "belong" exclusively to science or to the theory of evolution. You are correct but as you are talking science (biology) then adaptation is linked to evolution, and using it in your context is not quite right (when talking biology). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZL Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 ... The red pigmentation isnt an adaptation as it doesnt help it survive better than the typical VFT... I'm not sure whether red pigmentation is or is not an adaptation but i do think it helps the plant to survive for two reasons: 1) I believe the red pigmentation helps to lure a wider range of insects to the plant and thus helps it survive. With a wider range of insects i mean insects that are more responsive to color instead of scent. 2) Since we see the plant as 'red colored', it means that the red wavelengths of the light are reflected and the rest is absorbed. Since 'red' is next to 'infra-red', which is in fact 'heat/warmth radiation', i think a red plant in the same conditions would warm up less [due to less IR absorption] than a green plant, which can be advantageous in climates that tend to be just a bit too warm for VFTs. Disclaimer: This comes from my general knowledge of physics/biology and i don't claim these statements to be truths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Steve, I've said it before great picture and I wish I could get my Red Piranhas to bulk up like that. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimscott Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Nice color! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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